Ellis Concludes Term as CGU President

Thursday 26th March 2020 was due to see the 114th Annual General Meeting of the Cornwall Golf Union staged but, in light of the Covid-19 crisis, the meeting was postponed. Nonetheless with unanimous agreement of the county’s clubs some of the matters due to be conducted have taken place so the business of the Union can continue.

CGU County President for the past two years Mike Ellis (Trevose) has relinquished office and is replaced by Andrew Clotworthy (Tehidy Park) whilst Martin Edwards (Perranporth) becomes Vice President.

In other appointments Paul Clahane (Trevose) takes over as Seniors County Captain from Andy Rowe, David West (Newquay) remains as County Treasurer and Whitakers, Newquay as Independent Accountants. The three vacancies for elected members to the CGU Executive Committee are taken up by David Cowan (Trevose), Keith Gay (Carlyon Bay) and Simon Harper (St Austell). At the Junior level Matt Tucknott’s (Radnor) position as Juniors President is ratified along with that of Dave Watson (Carlyon Bay) as Juniors Vice President.

The adoption of the CGU accounts for the period to 31st December 2019 has been deferred to the next General Meeting of the CGU as has the proposal for the 2021 Affiliation Fee to remain at £10.

Outgoing President Mike Ellis provided the following message:

Dear Golfers

The current health issues with the Coronavirus have completely changed our lives as we know it. Restrictions including self-isolation, every golf course in the country closed, anxiety for ourselves, friends and loved ones, and last but not least cancellation of the Cornwall Golf Union Annual General Meeting.

First of all, I must express my thanks to Chris Pountney, without whom the Union would fall apart tomorrow! And I personally would have struggled to fulfil the role.

The two years of my presidency have passed very quickly. I have been lucky to meet many golfers and watch some great golf, from the Under 12 Mini Tour to Southwest Week. Everyone has been supportive both to me and to the Cornwall Golf Union, and I thank you all for that. The clubs in Cornwall have enthusiastically worked with us to run our events which provide such pleasure to so many golfers, and I hope that will continue for the future.

A big thank you to the Men’s and Seniors team captains; Ian Veale and Andy Rowe whose terms of office have finished. Their hard work, enthusiasm and dedication, and the commitment of the players, resulted in many successes, including for the first time winning the Seniors Channel League last year. Our best wishes go their successors Charlie Phillips and Paul Clahane. Hopefully resolution of the Corona Virus crisis will allow some team activity this season.

My thanks also go to Alan Lund who as Junior President has overseen the steady development of our Junior squads with much success including winning the SWCGA Junior Team Championship at Perranporth to reach the EG Finals at Rockliffe GC in 2018. Alan has stepped down now so congratulations to Matt Tucknott on being elected President at the Junior AGM in January.

During the last two years we have continued to develop our Governance processes, have looked at both amalgamation with Cornwall Ladies County Golf Association and also Incorporation of the CGU. We feel this is not the right moment for either at present but will continue to investigate both.

We have spent considerable time on the World Handicap System, with several workshops and there is much information on our website. As part of the development of WHS the majority of Cornish clubs have now been rated. Perhaps our most important role both for the last year and going forward is the promotion of Safeguarding for children and vulnerable adults to our constituent clubs. This is a timely intervention as England Golf have advised that meeting the Safegolf standard will become integral to Affiliation from next year. Allied to this I would also like to express out thanks to England Golf Club Support Officer Brad Bodinnar who has constantly been on hand to offer advice and assistance to all of our clubs and I know he will continue to do so. Please do get in touch with him particularly where SafeGolf is concerned.  

The CGU have been fortunate to secure new Sponsorship from St Austell Brewery through their Tribute brand, and also from PKF Francis Clark. Our thanks to them and also to Brittany Ferries for their ongoing sponsorship along with Datson Consulting and Ace Engineering.                

Finally, I would like to thank all the members of the CGU Executive for their support during my 2 years both in Committee and at our many events.

I hope you all remain well during this worrying time, and wish my successor Andrew Clotworthy all the best for the next two years.

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